The Square of Sevens

‘My father had spelt it out to me. Choice was a luxury I couldn’t afford. This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .’ November, 1730. Raised on the roads of Cornwall, a girl known only as Red travels from village to village with her fortune-telling father, paying their way with an ancient method of cartomancy known as the Square of Sevens. When their luck sours, Red’s father befriends a gentleman scholar, offering him an antique document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens in exchange for the scholar’s promise to take Red into his care. Brought up as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, Red’s fortune-telling skills are a delight in polite society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? Who are the enemies that her father always feared would find him? These mysteries take her from Bath to London, from the ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. But others have embarked upon their own investigations, determined to locate the stolen secret of the Square of Sevens. Red’s quest attracts their notice, bringing her great danger but also the possibility of a great reward . . . And so Red tells her story . . .